RECORD-BREAKING RUGBY & NORTHAMPTON YOUNGSTERS

SHINE IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

Athletics club narrowly miss out on Final despite outstanding display

Rugby & Northampton’s young athletes delivered yet another outstanding performance at the Youth Development League area final in Cardiff last weekend, narrowly missing out on a place in the national finals.

The under-13 girls starred on track and field, with Alice Bennett and Flo Matthews setting new club records en route to victory. Bennett won the 800 metres B string in a time of 2:28.47, while Matthews led the way in the long jump with a leap of 5.02 metres.

Matthews also took first in the 150m (20.80), a feat mirrored by several clubmates. Ruby Wood won the 75m (10.49), Alice Bates completed an 800m double by winning the A (2:30.42), and there were B successes for Charlotte Woodward (70m hurdles – 12.93) and Elspeth Unitt (1200m – 4:08.56).

Lily Carlaw was another to take top spot, triumphing in the shot put after her effort of 10.07 left her more than two metres clear of her closest competitors, and there were yet more under-13s to follow her on to the podium.

Xcena Pasqualin earned a pair of third-placed finishes in the 70m hurdles (12.32) and the high jump (1.25), Anna Farrow (23.11) was second in the javelin, and the girls took third in the 4x100m relay in 55.21 seconds.

It was in the field where the under-15 girls shone, with Ella Watford (1.55) first in the A high jump, which she followed up with second in the long jump (5.00). Eloise Nowill won the B high jump with 1.55 to complete the double.

Isabelle Thomson was victorious in both the B shot put (9.25) and discus (22.97), while Maia Reynolds impressed in the A string, taking second (9.83) and third (23.84) in the respective events. Abigail Ward was second in the javelin with a throw of 37.19.

On the track, Abigail Smith set the tone with 100m glory in 13.36, while Ward (27.91) was runner-up in the 200m. Amelia McMurtrie took third in the 800m with 2:23.85, and Amelia Tutt (12.15) added second place in the 75m hurdles. Second was also the result in both the 4×100 and 4x300m relays, where the team registered times of 52.42 and 3:02.69.

There were plenty of good performances among the boys too, with under-15 Noah Bennett claiming second in the 1500m A string, crossing the line in a new PB of 4:34.56.

For the under-13s, it was 800m double delight with Oliver Birch and Oliver Savage taking first in the A and B strings. Birch won in 2:25.32, and Savage took top spot in 2:27.87. Louis Buttrick added to the track success, grabbing second in the 1500m with a PB of 4:51.90.

Rounding off the day in the field, Joshua Tutt was dominant again, winning the shot put by more than three metres with a distance of 11.51 metres. An Oliver Scott PB of 1.35 secured him victory in the B string high jump, and Lewis Gurney was second in the A, with a jump of 1.46. There was a runner-up spot for Luke Turner too, after he delivered a personal best javelin throw of 27.03.